Choose a prototype idea

You’ve explored the background of prototyping, now it’s time to get specific. You might have a specific idea for a prototype already in mind, a range of concepts to choose between, or be uncertain where to start. Wherever you’re starting from, we’ll guide you through the process.

In this tutorial, you’ll:

• Select an idea for your prototype.
• Identify your target audience.

You can complete this learning experience whether or not you have experience coding for Unity, but your coding skills will impact the kinds of prototype experiences you can create.

What if I don’t have coding experience?

The example project for this learning experience will be a walking simulator. Walking simulators are an interactive experience that can easily accommodate all creative systems that are included in the Creative Core pathway, and they also offer room for your own creative expression.

If you don’t have any coding experience, we recommend that you also create a walking simulator project using the resources we have provided. Our example uses a pre-created character controller and custom script components — we’ll guide you through using these to create a similar experience.

What if I do have coding experience?

If you’ve completed the Junior Programmer pathway or have alternative coding experience, then you can apply all your previous learning to your prototype!

It’s still important not to start with a scope that’s too ambitious though — by keeping things simple and narrowing your focus to the basic interactions, you’ll be able to prototype quickly and check that you’re developing a viable prototype before things get too complex.

For further support on suitable game concepts to prototype, review the guidance in the Unity USC Games Unlocked course.

Whatever the approach you take, take some time to gather your thoughts about the prototype you’re going to make:

1. Note down your ideas for the kind of experience that you’d like to make. Try to keep your ideas achievable given your current experience, but don’t worry too much about scope right now — you’ll refine this in the next tutorial.

If you’re struggling for ideas, here are some resources you can use to help:

• Lab 1 - Project Design Document (Create with Code)
• How to generate amazing ideas for games (IntoGames)

2. Choose an idea that you’re going to move forward with in this learning experience. If it doesn’t work out, you can always return to the list and choose an alternative option!

3. Create a design document for your prototype project to start organizing key details about your prototype. You can make a copy of our basic template in Google Docs to use or adapt, or find another version that works better for you. If you don’t have a Google account, you can download a PDF version of the design document template to use as a reference.

Before you refine your concept and plan your prototype, let’s start thinking specifically about the kind of interactive experience that you want to make. Especially in the context of games, it’s impossible to create something that will appeal to every player — to help you create your experience, starting with the prototype, you need to identify your target users.

You probably have some idea of your target users already, even if you don’t have a complete and detailed profile. ‘Architects who need to visualize a physical space for clients’ or ‘physics students who need to learn about forces’, for example, are both clear high level summaries of a target user group that you could use as a guide when creating an experience.

The more you define that target audience, the better you can meet their interests and needs with what you create. It can also be incredibly useful to get some target users testing your prototype, to gather direct feedback and ensure that you’re not basing your decision-making on assumptions about what players want rather than their actual desires.

Who are your target users?

Take a moment now to think about the experience that you’d like to make. Don’t worry if you’re not certain, you can always come back to this again if you decide to change your idea later.

Make a note of your answers to the following questions:

• Who is your target user for the experience? Can you break that group into smaller sub-groups (sometimes called user segments)?
• What are other comparative experiences that they would find useful, engaging or enjoyable?
• What are their main needs for a useful or engaging experience?
• What might make them stop engaging with an experience?

It’s fine not to have exact answers right now — you can consider this a starting point for independent research!

Before you start to scope your concept, take a moment to work out the elevator pitch. This is a one sentence description of your experience that makes it clear what the unique selling point or main appeal is.

Here are some example elevator pitches for real-time experiences:

• The Legend of Zelda is a game about the hero exploring the mysterious land of Hyrule to gather the tools he needs to defeat the great evil and rescue the princess.
• Katamari Damacy is a game about the simple pleasure that comes from rolling things up in a ball.
• Pokemon is a game about cognitive dissonance for animal lovers.
• Future Aleppo is a virtual reality experience where drawings of the city of Aleppo have been used to make an interactive version of the city that children can explore in VR and contribute to.
• Townscaper is a city-building toy for relaxation and exploration.
• Nintendo 3DS Guide Louvre is an official guided tour through the Louvre Museum, which can either enhance your visit or simulate it from home.
• Notable Women is an augmented reality tool that places American women on dollar bills, from which they have been historically excluded.
• Duolingo is an interactive mobile application for learning new languages.
• Google Maps AR is an augmented reality feature in maps that you can use to see directions overlaid in your real environment.

Choose an interactive experience that you regularly use. What would its elevator pitch be?

Take a few minutes to review your chosen idea and the high-level summary of your target users that you identified earlier in this tutorial.

Try to write a single sentence description of the experience that makes it clear why it would appeal to the target users. Your task here isn’t to write a perfect sentence, but to give you a clear goal to aim for.

Tip: Add this to your design document so you don’t lose any of your ideas!

Now that you have an initial concept and target audience, it’s time to hone the plan for what you’re going to create. In the next tutorial, you’ll scope your concept, consider the value of paper prototyping, and define a visual style for your prototype.